Warden of the Mint

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The Warden of the Mint was in principle the highest ranking officer of the Royal Mint of Great Britain, having oversight over its operations and physical plant by virtue of a royal warrant. The office received a yearly emolument of £500. Technically subordinate to the Warden was the Master of the Mint. The Master was, in fact, the general contractor for the minting process, delegating the actual production to his subcontractors. The Master's yearly salary of £400 might be augmented to a figure of three to five times that amount, benefiting by the markup he imposed on the coinage actually produced by his subcontractors.

The most illustrious holder of the office of Warden of the Mint was Isaac Newton, who was warranted to this position on the recommendation of his friend, Montagu, Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1696. In 1699 however, Newton undertook the office of Master, because it was far more lucrative. Later the office was subsumed by that of the Chancellor of the Exchequer.